Luanda – Ambassador Guilhermina Prata highlighted in Paris, France, the action and role of Angola's first president, Dr. António Agostinho Neto, for the country's affirmation in the world.
Speaking on a day of tribute to the politician and writer, as part of the National Hero Day, Guilhermina Prata recalled the trajectory, example, humanism, dedication to freedom and solidarity expressed throughout his life by Agostinho Neto.
The event, which brought together more than fifty Angolans living in France, was marked by several cultural moments and a lecture on the theme “National (vernacular) Languages in preserving culture and reinforcing identity” given by the director of the Institute of National Languages, Jose Pedro.
As a man of culture, Dr. António Agostinho Neto left a legacy that includes, among others, the poetry books “Sagrada Esperança” and “Renúncia Impossível”.
Agostinho Neto proclaimed the country's independence from the then Portuguese colonial rule, on November 11, 1975, and became the country’s first president and head of State.
National Hero Day
Angola celebrated, on September 17th, the National Hero Day and Founder of the Nation under the motto “Together for the Development of Angola”.
The celebrations aimed to exalt the life, work and ideals of Neto, doctor, politician and writer, considered “Greatest Poet”, with events that praised his achievements and his dimension as a statesman, with emphasis on his contribution to the construction of the pillars of freedom in Angola and Africa, mainly in Southern Africa.
Born on September 17, 1922, in the town of Kaxicane, municipality of Icolo e Bengo, formerly the province of Bengo and currently Luanda, Dr. António Agostinho Neto died on September 10, 1979, in Moscow, capital of Russia, due to illness.
VM/CF/jmc
